The Reason
by Luna-Jayne
Summary: A follow on from my previous story 'The Choice'


**This follows on from 'The Choice' and is just how I imagined Rhydian may of told Ceri that he wasn't returning with her and Jana to the Wild. There will hopefully be a third installment involving Jana and Maddy at some stage :) Hope you enjoy this one and once again thank you for all the great comments on my stories, it really means alot! So I hope you all like this one as much as the others! :)**

**The Reason**

Rhydian watched as Jana disappeared back into the trees. She'd walked with him until they had reached the clearing where her caravan stood before telling him she had something to do and ran back the way they had come. So now he was about to face his Mother alone and tell her what he had just told Jana. Although whether she would take it as well as Jana was a different matter.

The warm orange glow that shone from the caravan's dirty windows was the only sign to indicate that someone was home. The forest surrounding the clearing was quiet, only the faint sound of wind rustling through the leaves and an intermittent Owl's hoot could be heard. The solitary moon gave off a little silver light, but not enough to penetrate through the thick undergrowth so anything further than a few metres from the clearing was in pitch darkness. This would be a problem for most people, but then Rhydian Morris wasn't most people. He knew the forest like the back of his hand, well maybe not that well, but he knew it well enough to be able to find Jana's caravan in the dark.

He stood on the edge of the clearing, hands stuffed in his pockets, staring straight at the caravan ahead of him. He could see slight movement through the dim windows and knew without a doubt that the occupant knew he was there, but she didn't seem to be making any attempt to come out and greet him. That was a good thing in his book as it meant that he had more time to think, more time to figure out exactly what he was going to say.

He knew that what he was doing was the right thing, speaking to Maddy earlier had cemented that decision in his head. There was no way that he was going to leave her now, he had done it once before and it had almost killed him, there was no doubt in his mind that this was where he wanted to be. In fact where ever Maddy was, was where he wanted to be. However now came the time to tell his Mother that he wouldn't be returning to the wild pack with her and Jana tomorrow.

Rhydian looked down at the floor for a couple of moments as he gathered his thoughts together in his head, before he took a deep breath and began walking towards the caravan. It was no surprise to him that as soon as he began moving, the door swung open and his Mother appeared bathed in the soft light of the caravan.

Rhydian stopped and smiled softly.

'Hi' he said.

Ceri gazed at her Son for a few seconds before she stepped out of the caravan and shut the door gently behind her.

'Rhydian, is something wrong?' she asked worry creeping into her voice as she spoke.

Rhydian shook his head.

'Uh no, well, I suppose it depends on your reaction to what I say next'

Ceri walked up to Rhydian and placed a comforting hand on his cheek, love shining brightly from her eyes. She waited for him to continue.

'I uh, I can't come with you'

Rhydian looked nervously at his Mother awaiting her reaction. He expected her to snatch her hand away and step back, shout at him for wanting to leave her again, but instead she smiled. A soft smile that a Mother reserved only for her children.

'Mum?' he questioned after a few moments.

'Its your tame friend, Maddy, isn't it?' she said gently removing her hand from his cheek with a knowing look on her face.

Rhydian looked a little shocked. How did she know? It was becoming fairly obvious that he had been pretty useless at hiding his feelings, first Jana and now his Mother. He was starting to worry who else may have sussed it out.

'I... I... well she's...'

'Rhydian, listen to me' Ceri began her face softening 'I may not have much experience with this sort of thing, but I know love when I see it, and the love you have for that girl shines brighter than any I have seen. I know now that you do not belong in the wild, you never did. You have a home here, a family, a pack, and although it kills me to leave you again, I know that what you have here makes you happier than I ever could. You belong here Rhydian, you belong here with Maddy'

Rhydian just stared at his Mother, listening intently to her words. That was not what he had exepctd at all. She was right though, once again his Mother was right. He did have a home, he had a pack that he was part of, maybe it wasn't the conventional Wolfblood pack, but it was his and it was not something that he wanted to give up. He had things here, people here that he never wanted to leave.

'I'm sorry' Rhydian said softly ducking his head momentarily before he felt a hand under his chin and his head was pulled back up again.

'Do not be sorry Rhydian. All I want is for you to be happy, and if this place, these people do that then who am I to stand in your way' she smiled a smile edged with sadness, but her voice was full of happiness, he had found somewhere to belong, despite everything he'd been through and Ceri was genuinely pleased, even if he had found happiness away from her.

Rhydian smiled brightly and stepped forward to hug his Mother. She returned his embrace and spoke softly.

'You've chosen well Rhydian' she said her voice slightly muffled by his coat.

Pulling back, Rhydian looked at her with an air of confusion on his face.

'Sorry?'

'Maddy, I may have underestimated her. She has wild blood flowing through her, I can see that now'

Rhydian smiled and nodded his head in agreement.

'She uh, she's...'

'She loves you' Ceri said simply, watching as the expression on her Son's face immediately changed and she smiled softly 'Don't look so surprised Rhydian, I may not know much about this world you seem to like so much, but its clear to anyone how much she cares about you'

Rhydian blushed slightly as he took his eyes off his Mother and averted his gaze to the forest floor.

Ceri knew she had missed out on so much of her Son's life, she'd missed all his milestones, all his achievements, she couldn't be a part of any of his memories and in some ways he was very much a stranger to her but in others she felt she knew him inside out and that was why she understood what he was saying. He loved this girl, that was obvious to anyone, but Ceri knew there was more to it than that. Maddy could give him so much that she and the Wild pack just couldn't, in the short time she had spent with the two of them Ceri realised they belonged together, one was not whole unless the other was with them.

'How do you know so much?' Rhydian asked after a few moments of silence, lifting his head and looking back towards his Mother.

Ceri laughed softly and tilted her head to the side slightly 'I'm your Mother, I know everything'

Rhydian smiled and nodded, his eyes twinkling in the soft light of the moon. Didn't every Mum say that?

Ceri's face turned serious for a second as she once again raised her hand and let it rest gently on his cheek 'I'm proud of you Rhydian' she began, her eyes wide as she looked lovingly at her Son 'I know I've made mistakes, I know I haven't been the perfect Mother and there are many thing that I wish I could go back and change but despite everything that's happened, you have turned into this amazing person. I have spent so many years thinking about you, wondering what you were like, what you were doing, whether you were happy, but seeing you now, I know that I shouldn't have worried. This place, these people are what you need Rhydian, I can't take that away from you'

Jana had been right Rhydian thought as he listened to his Mother's words. She had said that Ceri would understand, that she would want what was best for him and she was right. Rhydian had never heard his Mother talk like this before, never heard so much meaning in her voice or seen so much emotion in her eyes. He just stood and let the words sink in.

'Thank you' he said simply, not really knowing what else to say.

Ceri just smiled 'Your lucky to have each other Rhydian, never let go of that'

From that moment, Rhydian knew for certain that he was doing the right thing, he knew that staying in Stoneybridge was the only thing he wanted to do. Despite the fact that he had the chance to live in the Wild, be with Ceri and Bryn and live the life that he was born into, he had chosen to stay. Maddy was his life now, school, friends even homework was what he wanted his life to be filled with. Seeing his Mother was great, but he just couldn't imagine himself leaving and spending the rest of his life out there, in a world that was in some ways so alien to him.

He had spent the majority of his life living as a human, believing for 14 years that he _was_ human, and to suddenly find out that in fact he wasn't entirely what he thought he was, came as a bit of a shock to say the least. However, it was Maddy that helped him through, it was Maddy that showed him that he wasn't a freak, he wasn't weird, he was normal and he wasn't alone.

Although he was born into a Wild Pack, Rhydian knew that wasn't home. He grew up in the human world, he grew up knowing electricity, flushing toilets and cars, not the forest and everything else that went with it. He wanted to stay, he knew for definite this was where he wanted to be and it had taken one girl to show him that.

For him, home was wherever Maddy was.


End file.
